Locking device for aerial-tramway buckets.



LOCWUNG DEVICE FOR AHHAL TRAMWAY BUCKETS.

APPLICATION HLED Amm. 1917.

Patented Feb. 5,1918.

GEORGE rE'rEEsoE, or BRITANNIA BEACH, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA.

LUCKING DEVICE FOR AERIAL-TRAMWAY BUCKETS.

raaaaco.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE PETERSON, a citlzen of the Unlted States, and resldingat Britannia Beach, in the Province of British Columbia, Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Locking Devices for Aerial-Tramway Buckets, of,

which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in looking devices for buckets used in aerial tramway systems for transporting material of any kind, such as copper ore or the like, and the object'of my invention is to provide a simple, inexpensive, e'flicient and easily operable device for locking the loaded bucket in the loaded position, the use of which positively locks the bucket against inadvertent dumping during its travel to the dumping point, thereby preventing the bucket from becoming inadvertently unlocked so as to dump before the predetermined point is reached, a frequent occurrence with the buckets as arranged and used at the present time.

I attain this object by the means illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which- Figure l is a side elevation illustrating an embodiment of my invention as applied to a typical tramway bucket.

Fig. 2 is a front view of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a detail view, in perspective, of the latch stirrup and latch dog assembled together.

Fig. 4 is a detail view, in perspective, of the latch dog.

Similar figures of reference indicate similar parts throughout the several views.

1 indicates a typical aerial tramway bucket, as used for the transportation of copper ore or like material, 2 its supporting pendant, 3 -4 the trolley wheels, and 5-6 plate hooks secured on the opposite sides respectively of the bucket and of the kind in common use at the present time.

7 and 8 indicate brackets secured respectively to the opposite legs of the pendant 2, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, in which brackets is movably supported a transverse shaft 9, the ends of which are bent, first downwardly, as shown in Fig. 2, and then forwardly, as shown in Fig. 1, their extremities being formed as handles, as indicated at 10 in Fig. 1. Swingably connected to the respective legs of the pendant adjacent the plate hooks 5 and 6 are latch stirrups 11 and Specification of Letters Patent.

- Patented Feb. 5, 1918.

Application filed April 21, 1917. Serial No. 163,698.

12, the connection being made by means of a pin or bolt 13 passed through the pendant and openings 15 in the stirrup, shown in Fig. 3, and each stirrup is provided with a pin, indicated by the numeral 16 in Fig. 3 and shown at 16 and 17 in Fig. 2, on which pins are respectively mounted swingable latch dogs 18 and 19, which dogs engage the respective plate hooks 5 and 6 when the bucket is looked, as shown in Fig. 1. The inner faces of the dogs may be plain, but it is preferable to form them with a groove, as at 26 in Fig. 4, in which groove the point of the plate hook rests'so that undue side wise movement of the dogs when in the looking position is prevented.

The pins 16 and 17 project at each end beyond the sides of their respective stirrups so that there may be connected thereto the lower ends of levers 2021 and 2223 respectively, the upper ends of these levers be ing connected by pins 27 to the respective forwardly turned ends of the transverse shaft 9. The shaft 9 may be retained in place in the brackets 7 and 8 by any suitable means, and I prefer to use for this purpose a three-cornered plate, indicated at 24 in Fig. 1, which fits over the shaft, there being one such plate for each bracket and each plate being rigidly secured to the side of its respective bracket by means of a rivet, as shown at 25 in Fig. 1.

The manner in which my device is used will be apparent on reference being had to the drawings, Figs. 1 and 2 showing the bucket locked in the loaded position. llt will be seen that the latch dogs 18 and 19 are engaged in front of the plate hooks 5 and 6,the points of which rest in the grooves 26 of the dogs, and that therefore the bucket cannot dump, as the dogs are maintained firmly in position by the downward strain on the levers 20-21 and 22-23 acting on the respective stirrups 11 and 12, which strain is produced by the action of forcing the forwardly turned ends of the shaft 9 downwardly and rearwardly when looking the bucket in its loaded position, and as the point of connection of the upper ends of the levers with the forwardly turned ends of the shaft is eccentric to the vertical center line of the downwardly turned ends of the shaft when the device is in the locked position it will be evident that the downward strain on the levers and consequently on the stirrups is maintained as long as the device is in the locking position, as shown in Fig. 1, and therefore the latch dogs cannot become 1nclined-plane at a predetermined point in the path of the handles 10 on which the handles the dogs 18 and 19 and 6.

' ride sothat the ends of the shaft are forced upwardly, thereby relieving the strain on the levers 2021 and 2223 andswinging the stirrups 11 and 12 upwardly and removing from the plate hooks 5 What I claim as my invention is 1. Thecomblnatlon wlth an aerlal tramway bucket and its locking hooks, of latch way bucket and its locking hooks, of a transverse shaft mounted on the bucket pendant having its extremities turned downwardly, stirrups swingably mounted on the bucket pendant adjacent the said hooks, latch dogs 7 carried by the said stirrups with which the said hooks engage when the bucket is in the loaded position, and levers extending between the said stirrups and the downwardly turned ends of the said shaft.

3. The combination with an aerial trainway bucket and its locking hooks, of a transverse shaft mounted on the bucket pendant having its extremities turned downwardly and forwardly, stirrups swing-ably mounted on the bucket pendant adjacent the said hooks, latch dogs carried by the said stirrups with which the said hooks engage when the bucket is in the loaded position, and levers extending between the said stirrups and the forwardly turned ends of the said shaft. I

Dated at Britannia Beach, 13. (1, this 30th day of March, 1917.

GEORGE PETERSON.

Copies of this patent may he obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

' Washington, D. 0. 

